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Logan's Run is based on the 1976 film starring Michael York and Jenny Agutter. In the far future, a series of disasters, probably man-made, has made the surface of the Earth uninhabitable and the last remnants of humanity now live a life of luxury and joy in the Domed City. At the age of 30, each inhabitant of the city undergoes the ceremony of Carousel in which they are 'renewed'. Runners believe that the ceremony merely kills you to make way for the next generation and so go on the run onto the surface in search of a place called Sanctuary. Sandmen are the city's police force, dedicated to killing runners, but Logan 5 is having doubts about this and an encounter with Jessica 6 turns him into a runner himself. The council of the city send his Sandman partner Francis to bring him back and crush the runner movement forever. Logan's Run The Pilot Out beyond the city for the first time, Logan and Jessica shelter from the first storm they have ever known and discover an ancient vehicle that still works. They use this to find a fallout shelter, but learn that the people who live there are in fear of a group of riders. Jessica tells a child what it is like outside and the girl goes to see for herself and is captured. Jessica follows and is also captured. Logan has to attempt their rescue. The series takes in Logan and Jessica's journeys across a shattered America, encountering each week a new and isolated community that either wants to imprison, kill or torture them. Along the way they meet up with an android called Rem who takes a liking to them and decides to go along for no particular reason. Worse than that, the characters are rather wet and really rather stupid, Jessica especially who falls for just about every lie and trap that is set for them. Logan is a little more suspicious, but not too much. The cast is very likeable and the two leads are certainly easy enough to look at, but there is nothing here to engage the brain and make anyone think. Sandmen exist to kill runners, inhabitants of the City of Domes who choose not to take ritual suicide at 30 and try to escape to a place called Sanctuary. Logan is one such sandman, but he has doubts about the ritual of rebirth and when his partner Francis kills another runner and threatens the attractive Jessica who was helping him, he reacts and instantly becomes a runner. Out beyond the city for the first time, Logan and Jessica shelter from the first storm they have ever known and discover an ancient vehicle that still works. They use this to find a fallout shelter, but learn that the people who live there are in fear of a group of riders. Jessica tells a child what it is like outside and the girl goes to see for herself and is captured. Jessica follows and is also captured. Logan has to attempt their rescue. Free again, Logan and Jessica head for the mountains where they discover a city of perfect people who turn out to be androids that want to serve them and refuse to let them go. There, they find a new source of aid called Rem. There's a lot of plot in the first two episodes of Logan's Run, far too much in fact. Where we would be much more interested in seeing how Logan is turned from his beliefs as a sandman into a runner, we are rushed through three stories. He kind of says that he's not sure about rebirth and then when Jessica says that it's all a lie he immediately turns. It's hardly a convincing change of attitude. The plot of the second story in which the riders are terrorising the locals doesn't convince either. The locals are pacifists and won't fight back, until they see Logan fight that is and Logan manages to deal with all of the riders with absurd ease. The third and final story is an excuse to introduce Donald Moffat as Rem - android companion, technology fixer and generally know it all get out of jail free card. Fortunately for the show Gregory Harrison is a likeable enough lead as Logan with Heather Menzies proving attractive enough in a string of short skirts, but both of the characters seem a little stupid to say the least with the script asking them to miss the most obvious things. Other than that, it's bright and breezy, but not likely to strain even a single brain cell. Written by William F Nolan and Saul David Directed by Robert Day The Collectors The vehicle breaks down and so whilst Rem repairs it, Logan and Jessica take a look around, finding that Sanctuary is just over the hill. Everything is there to make them happy and contented, but Logan is suspicious and it becomes clear that their hosts are not runners, but aliens out to collect pairs of the dominant lifeforms to take back to their planet for experimentation. Another silly story doesn't bode well for the rest of this series. It is obvious from the beginning that the surroundings can't possibly be Sanctuary, but Jessica is asked to remain completely convinced even when her best friend walks in just after she's asked about him. Logan is allowed to go on a walkabout that shows him secrets behind the illusions even though every effort to keep him convinced have been made elsewhere. It's lazy plotting and never convinces for the slightest second. Even worse, the alien creatures are terribly rendered and look like stunt people in hallowe'en masks and there is a terrible sugary sentiment that seeps out at the end that just adds to the disappointment. Capture Francis captures the runners and determines to take them back to the City of Domes, but they all fall inot the trap of Borden, a hunter who has exhausted his supply of worthy game and has turned to hunting humans. Logan and Francis, Sandmen both, provide the ultimate challenge. Only by working together could they escape him. Another weak story is made even weaker by its realisation. The idea of hunters chasing human prey is hardly new, but it can rarely have been so poorly presented. Logan and Francis manage to stumble into every trap that is laid for them before finding a way of escaping. The hunter himself is stupid enough to actually kill his own wife and the sandman who is accompanying Francis (hang on, weren't there two?) is so dumb that it makes you wonder why Borden considers the sandmen to be such a challenge. Horst Bucholz adds some star wattage, but nothing more, to the proceedings whilst Mary Woronov uses her limited screen time to much better effect. The Innocent Taking refuge behind an impenetrable forcefield, Logan, Jessica and Rem discover a girl who has lived virtually her whole life in isolation. When she takes a shine to Logan, it's a bit embarrassing, but when she turns out to have psychokinetic powers capable of transporting Jessica and Rem nowhere so that she can be alone with Logan it becomes something more dangerous. Considering that Star Trek was doing stories like this, and a whole lot better, over a decade ago, it is disappointing to find such a weak and unoriginal story cropping up here. It comes as no surprise to find DC Fontana's name on the list of writers for such a recycled idea. It is only because Lisa Eilbacher is able to make what is essentially a spoiled brat into something more like the innocent soul that the title suggests by her appealing performance that this is in any way watchable. Man out of time The three fugitives find a piece of functioning equipment that offers up a rabbit and then a man who claims to also be looking for Sanctuary, and to know where it is. He is from before the time of disaster, come forward in time to find out what caused the end of the world in his time so that he can stop it. This will, of course, mean that Logan, Jessica and Rem will never exist. In a series that is pretty vanilla in terms of concepts, this at least has a bit of moral greyness about it. How do you justify the murder of millions of beings in the name of saving billions of others? It's a nice question that never gets any sort of real analysis. The plot stays determinedly on the discovery of what might be Sanctuary and how it turns out not to be. Half Life Attacked by a band of primitives, Logan, Rem and Jessica are saved by people who call themselves positives. They live in a society that has found a way of splitting out all their negative side into a second body and banishing them from paradise. Jessica is split and her bad side cast out, but Rem and Logan are not about to let this state of affairs continue. The Crypt Original story by Harlan Ellison. Strangely enough he is rarely credited with writing the original story or treatment for this episode. This tale dealt with cryogenically frozen people, but the clumsy Logan drops some of the serum so there is only enough to save a few of them. To make things worse one of the frozen people is an imposer who starts bumping off the others. This episode tries to organize a large cast of characters in a sort of mystery. Rem even gets to play Sherlock Holmes. Logan delivers a great dramatic scene at the end. Even Jessica gets disgusted! Good acting on the part of all the regulars in this episode! The guest cast tries really hard in the limited amount of time to all be specific individuals, but there is really not enough time for that. Fear Factor Jessica gets strapped to a reprogramming table and had her mind messed with. Pictures of that appeared in quite a few books and magazines. The concept of an insane asylum taken over by the inmates made for some chilly viewing. Judas Goat A man named Hal 14 runs into Logan and his pals and claims to be a runner. He is actually a Sandman trying to get the trio back to the Domed City. Futurepast Logan and Jessica are delighted when they are able to sleep in two real beds for a change. Unfortunately, they are hooked up to machines that are used for dream analysis and the anxiety in their dreams is of such a pitch that it could conceivably kill them as they sleep. This is an episode that is wrong on so many levels that you can't help but wonder how people actually got paid for writing the show. The use of stock footage for Jessica and Logan's dreams is pretty cheap and, whilst he is seen to be afraid of not being able to save Jessica from death, she is shown to be a brat who just wants her mommy. It's obvious from the out that the centre's guardian is another android, but the burgeoning romance between Rem and Ariane is beyond cringemaking. This is the worst episode to date. Written by Katharyn Michaelian Powers Carousel Logan is shot with a dart that wipes the last year of his memory. As a result, he takes up his old life as a Sandman and is to speak before Carousel to say that runnning is wrong and thus crush the order. Jessica and Rem follow him in an attempt to awaken his memories before he can make the speech or be disposed of by the council. This is a more interesting episode, mainly because it dumps the 'community of the week' format and gets Logan and Jessica back in the City of Domes with a real problem to solve. Heather Menzies in full on seduction mode just shows what a wet character Jessica actually is and further makes you wonder how she got Logan running in the first place when he had the choice of other ladies (like FLASH GORDON's Melody Anderson) on tap. Written by DC Fontana & Richard L Breen Jr Directed by Irving J Moore Night Visitors It's been raining for so long that the solar hovercraft runs out of power. Fortunately, it does so right next to a big house. Going inside, the trio are met by a pair of strange people who are then joined, somehow, by a third. As strangeness builds on strangeness, Rem decides that the house is haunted, but what do the ghosts want with Jessica? Possibly the most effective episode yet, this benefits from quite a good use of the hoary old haunted house set up complete with lightning storm outside, people who appear and disappear, mirrors that show entire other rooms. Most of these are used sparingly and create an eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately, the ghosts act so wierdly from the outset that it is obvious that they are not what they seem and it remains only to find out what they are and what their purpose is. Still, this shows that the show can be more than the bland futurescapes that have been shown to date. Written by Leonard Katzman Directed by Paul Krasny Turnabout The trio cross into a land where books are banned and women must not show their faces. The repressive regime is threatened byt he sense of rebellion in the runners. Francis claims his prisoners, but they are sentenced to death. Probably the poorest episode yet sees another community with nothing interesting in it at all. The plot hasn't got a lot more in it either. It is, in fact, so threadbare that Logan, Jessica and Francis have to wander around aimlessly in the desert being pursued by horsemen for what seems like ages just to waste some time. The cut price light sabres are absolutely hysterical.Written by Michael Michaelian & Al Hayes Directed Stargate The fugitives find a man stumbling around freezing to death even though the weather is warm. They take him home to a ruined city where the rest of his kind live. They turn out to be aliens from a planet much hotter than Earth and they start to disassemble Rem for his circuits so that they can complete a matter transporter that will bring their army to conquer our planet. Another example of just why this series got cancelled, the plot is a variation on a theme that has now become well worn. When the humans are to be killed, they are dumped into what is supposed to be a dangerous swamp, but which contains nothing very scary at all, but it takes time for them to walk out, thus filling out time in the episode. This marks the end of LOGAN'S RUN and it's hard to feel sorry about it. Written by Dennis O'Neill The Guardians (Not Produced) written by Ellis St. Joseph Our travelers suffer damage to the hovercraft and take refuge with a commune of farmers. They learn of a nearby "fort" has a hovercar, too, and the personnel there also have something the farmers want. They don't know what it is, but it seems to give the fort light, power to run the machines, and other luxuries the farmers do not have. There has been regular skirmishing between the the two factions for some time. A foray into the fort by Logan and Rem reveals it is an old missile base which escaped being hit in the holocaust, and the precious thing the garrison is protecting from "the enemy" is a still-armed nuclear missile which they will defend to the death. When Logan and Rem fail to return on time, Jessica leads the farmers in a raid on the base, casing the base commander to hit the button which starts the launch countdown on a missile that could begin another holocaust. Both factions must work together, led buy out people, to stop the countdown and find a workable peace among themselves. The Thundersentinels There is no information on this unproduced episode. The Peacemakers There is no information on this unproduced episode. The Playground In this episdode Logan, Jessica and Rem are shot at by robots when they approach a facility designed to raise children. The only problem is that these children act like seven year olds but look to be almost twenty! Something has gone very wrong in The Playground! Category:Series